2009 California Government Code - Section 27430-27436 :: Chapter 8.5. Public Guardian

27430.  (a) In any county the board of supervisors may by ordinance
create the office of public guardian and subordinate positions which
may be necessary and fix compensation therefor.
   (b) The board of supervisors may by ordinance terminate the office
of public guardian.

27431.  (a) The board of supervisors may appoint a public guardian
to fill the office and provide for appointment to the subordinate
positions.
   (b) In appointing the public guardian, the board of supervisors
may give preference to the person or agency providing public guardian
services in each county. No person or agency shall be designated as
public guardian whose agency functions present real conflict with the
functions of conservatorship investigation or administration.

27432.  (a) The board of supervisors may by ordinance designate that
the public administrator is ex officio public guardian.
   (b) If the board of supervisors has not designated the public
administrator as ex officio public guardian, but has appointed
another public guardian, it may terminate the appointment and may by
ordinance designate that the public administrator is ex officio
public guardian and all authority vests in the successor.
   (c) If the public administrator has been designated ex officio
public guardian, the board of supervisors may by ordinance terminate
the designation and appoint another public guardian and all authority
vests in the successor.

27433.  The authority of the public guardian or ex officio public
guardian ceases upon the termination of his or her tenure in office
as public guardian or ex officio public guardian and his or her
authority vests in his or her successor. If letters have been issued
to "the public guardian" of the county, the letters are sufficient to
authorize action by the successor and new letters need not be
issued.

27434.  The public guardian shall give an official bond in an amount
fixed, from time to time, by the board of supervisors. The bond
shall be for the joint benefit of the guardianship or conservatorship
estates and the county. The public guardian may not be required to
give a bond in an individual estate.

27435.  (a) Necessary expenses of the public guardian in the conduct
of any guardianship or any conservatorship estate may be advanced by
the county. If so ordered by the board of supervisors, those
expenses are a county charge, but the county shall be reimbursed
therefor out of funds or property of the estate by the public
guardian as soon as, and to the extent that, funds or property become
available.
   (b) As a means of advancing necessary expenses of a public
guardian, the county board of supervisors may establish a revolving
fund to be used by the public guardian. The revolving fund shall be
established pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 29460) of
Chapter 2 of Division 3 of Title 3.

27436.  The board of supervisors may designate who shall be
authorized as public representative payee, and designate the public
guardian to collect any fees authorized by the board of supervisors
for public representative payee services.